1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable engine mount for use within a model airplane, the mount being structured to enable rapid, facilitated, single step adjustment of the orientation of an engine of a model airplane secured to the mount.
2. Description of the Related Art
The building and operation of remote control boats, cars, and especially airplanes, is becoming an increasingly popular and complex hobby. Specifically, with regard to model airplanes, scaled models of real aircraft are increasingly advanced and effective. To meet these increasing needs, small scale model aircraft engines are manufactured in a variety of sizes and configurations adapted to provide high levels of performance and ability to the model airplane. Due to their high output nature, model aircraft engines often become worn or otherwise require replacement, repair or adjustment. When such a replacement of the model aircraft engine is necessary, a new engine cannot simply be purchased and immediately installed for effective use. Rather, once the new engine is mounted within the aircraft, its specific orientation within the aircraft must be continually adjusted until a proper orientation which provides the most effective flight is achieved. Similarly, this adjustment is necessary even if the old engine has merely been temporarily removed or repositioned from its appropriate orientation.
Presently, in order to facilitate interchanging and remounting of model aircraft engines, separate engine mounts are employed. Specifically, the engine is secured to the mount, and the mount rather than the engine itself is directly secured to the model airplane. These model airplane engine mounts presently include a plurality of openings disposed about a periphery thereof wherethrough a screw is utilized to secure the mount to the fire wall of the model aircraft. Once installed, repeated testing and adjustment is undertaken to achieve the proper orientation of the engine. This testing requires continuous unfastening and refastening of the number of screws used to secure the mount to the fire wall in alternating sequences and with no accurate indications. Further, during this adjustment process, the tightening or loosening of one of the plurality of screws may result in a change in alignment which necessitates tightening or loosening of the remaining screws in a countless number of differing patterns and degrees. This traditional type of engine mount, as illustrated in the patents to Gleichauf (U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,205), Stewart (U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,280), and Godbersen (U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,711), utilize a plurality of screws to fasten the mount assembly to the fire wall of the aircraft. Even in the case of the reference to Godbersen which provides for variable pivoted positioning of the engine so as to accommodate mounting in varying size airplanes, there are still a plurality of screws which secure the assembly to the fire wall and which dictate the axial alignment of the engine relative to the airplane. As a result, those screws must be adjusted in the conventional trial and error manner in order to compensate for the torque resulting from the functioning of the engine and its axial alignment. In particular, such torque can result in rotation and/or other unnecessary deviations in the flight path of the airplane, thereby necessitating that the aligned orientation of the engine relative to the aircraft be pivoted axially.
The device of the present invention is designed specifically to eliminate the tedious and difficult adjustment steps necessary in the prior art, wherein small adjustments must be made, the flight tested, and repeated adjustments must be made until after a number of trials, appropriate alignment is achieved. The device of the present invention allows an easier, less time-consuming adjustment.